In his short time as general manager of the Blue Jackets, Jarmo Kekalainen has made it clear that he's open to all options when looking to improve his team.

There was a blockbuster deal at the NHL trading deadline, new contracts for the team's core young players and today, the club signed a solid stay-at-home defenseman from HIFK in the Finnish Elite League. Ilari Melart, 24, joins the Blue Jackets organization on a one-year entry level contract and provides a unique element among the team's group of defensemen.

Not known as a flashy guy by any means, Melart has made a name for himself as an even-keeled, sturdy player who plays a simple game and isn't afraid to throw his weight around. Checking in at 6-foot-3 and a whopping 227 lbs., it's fairly easy to see why opponents aren't fond of playing against him.

“We’re very pleased to be adding Ilari to our organization,” Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen said in a statement issued by the team. “He’s coming off of a strong season in one of the top professional leagues in Europe and played will for Finland at the World Championships."

Curtis Lazar notably drew attention when he broke tournament records set by Sidney Crosby (points record) and Steven Stamkos (goals record) at the 2011 Canada Winter Games for Team British Columbia when he was just 16 years old. Since then, he has continued to excel for the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Hockey League (WHL) - a team that always seems to be in the championship hunt.

Lazar is a strong skater and reads plays well on the ice. His vision allows him to position himself in the right place at the right time offensively and defensively, making him a versatile and valuable player for Oil Kings coach Derek Laxdal. Because of his play-reading ability, he creates turnovers against his opponents’ top lines in the WHL both shorthanded and at even strength...what's not to like about that?

Offensively, Lazar has a strong and accurate shot, making him more of a goal scorer than a playmaker. Though his point totals are not super high, he is invaluable as a defensive forward and one that has a knack for being on the right side of the puck.

Ranked at No. 26 on NHL Central Scouting's final rankings list, many consider Lazar to be underrated pick that could make an impact early in his NHL career, but viewed by many as a player who could have a long NHL career because of his ability to change and adapt.

Ryan Hartman, an Illinois native brought up through the United States National Team Development program, is currently a spunky right winger in the OHL for the Plymouth Whalers.

Hartman most recently put on an impressive performance at the 2013 World Junior Hockey Championship on a gold medal winning United States team that features Columbus natives Sean Kuraly and Connor Murphy. His intelligent-yet-aggressive play on the third line generated offense and was often matched up against opponents’ top lines. He was also a member of the gold medal winning U.S. squad at the 2012 IIHF Under-18 World Championships.

Listed at No. 16 on NHL Cenral Scouting’s final ranking for North American skaters, Hartman is best known for his physical play as a power forward despite his smaller size at 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds. He’s the kind of guy who plays his tail off between the whistles and isn’t afraid to mix it up after the whistle if need be; this season alone, he sat in the penalty box for 120 minutes and is a physical presence at both ends of the ice.

NOTE: BlueJackets.com will be profiling some of this year's NHL Draft prospects between now and the draft, to be held June 30 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Check the CBJ Today regularly to get the latest on prospects who could become Blue Jackets on draft day.

Anthony Mantha is one of the oldest players in this year’s draft, born just a day after the cutoff for the 2012 NHL Draft. His day-late birthday served to his advantage, climbing in the draft rankings from 2012 to 2013.

In a year’s time, Mantha doubled his goal total and increased his point total by 38 points during that span, landing him the 10th spot on the final 2013 NHL Draft rankings released by Central Scouting.

The 6-foot-4 left winger uses his size to his advantage by holding the zone and getting involved physically. His size helps him break through checks and win board battles for the puck, and he's considered to be one of the more physical players in this year's class.

Though he is not a fighter, Mantha took 71 penalty minutes this season for Val-d’Or. His large frame also helps create traffic and screens in front of goaltenders, which has led to a lot of great scoring chances.

Despite his size, Mantha is an impressive skater with great acceleration and quick speed at both ends of the ice, often out-skating opponents and creating offense by winning races. His good balance and quick thinking also help him pull up and release a quick shot on the rush or make plays in traffic - something that is a requirement at the next level.

With four of the best teams in major junior hockey convening in Saskatoon, things were bound to get interesting at the MasterCard Memorial Cup.

For the second consecutive year (and the second time in tournament history) all four teams sport a 1-1 record through the first two games of head-to-head competition, ensuring that a tiebreaker will take place on Thursday night at the Credit Union Centre. Monday night contributed the latest entertaining twist of this Memorial Cup, as the Portland Winterhawks exploded for three straight goals to put away a furious comeback by the London Knights.

London, down 3-0 and with things looking bleak after a sweet goal by Portland's Ty Rattie, put its work boots on as you would expect Dale Hunter's team to do and made things really exciting in a hurry. Scott Harrington scored the 3-1 goal and it was followed by Bo Horvat making it a one-goal game late in the second period, setting up for a third period that won't soon be forgotten by those who follow junior hockey and the Memorial Cup.

Alex Broadhurst's tying goal in the early stages of the third period looked as if it would be a breaking point for the Winterhawks, but Portland's poise came to the fore.

The Winterhawks answered with three goals of their own - two of which, 23 seconds apart, came moments after the Knights tied the game. Derrick Pouliot and Chase De Leo did the permanent damage and made sure the Winterhawks would escape the first two games of the round robin with a split, but it didn't come easy with the game hanging in the balance.

If there's one thing to help the Springfield Falcons tonight, it would be their situation: the margin for error has almost completely evaporated and though "must win" is tossed around like Oprah's favorite things, it's applicable here.

Facing a 2-0 series deficit in the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Falcons open a set of two (and potentially three, depending on the outcome) games this week at War Memorial Arena in Syracuse. In order to keep their great season going, the Falcons have to win this set of games and give themselves a chance with home ice advantage.

But before they can talk about specifics, they simply need to be the better team tonight in Game 3. The first two games of the series heavily favored the Crunch, who have several players left from the Norfolk Admirals' Calder Cup championship team a year ago. Syracuse has made plays off the rush while also neutralizing the Falcons' power play and their skill players - putting a lot of additional pressure on the defense and goaltending.

Syracuse, coming off a three-game sweep in round one, kept rolling in Game 1 of this series by jumping out to a 4-1 lead in the first period. What had been a rocking crowd inside the MassMutual Center was silenced very early, as the Falcons were under siege from the get-go and were uncharacteristically careless with the puck.

In the words of Springfield coach Brad Larsen, his club had a lot of people standing still in Game 1 and he wanted a much different result in Game 2.

Thus, it goes without saying that a better start is an absolute necessity for Springfield in Game 3.

Russia closed out its preliminary round schedule on Monday afternoon with the biggest offensive output of the 2013 IIHF World Hockey Championship.

After suffering two disappointing losses to France (2-1) and Finland (3-1) last week, the Russians needed to bounce back in their last two preliminary games and get the ship righted before the quarterfinals begin later this week. Step one was closing out a tight game with Slovakia on Sunday in which Russia led 2-1 after two periods, only to see the Slovaks come with a strong push early in the third period.

Veteran defenseman Denis Denisov scored a huge goal for Russia at 4:48 of the third period, answering Slovakia's brief flurry with the insurance tally to make it a 3-1 game. Ilya Bryzgalov - who has been solid for Russia in the tournament - held Slovakia off the board the rest of the way to earn an important victory for his club.

In that game, Blue Jackets center Artem Anisimov was yet again one of Russia's most consistent players in the middle of the ice. Not only did he win 10-of-15 face-offs in the game, he created some chances and had the attention of Slovakia's defense. Anisimov, who has played in all seven preliminary round games so far, logged 14:30 on the afternoon.

Fedor Tyutin was +1 in the victory over Slovakia and played 21:45 (the vast majority of it at even strength) alongside Denisov.

For the second consecutive game, a slow start doomed the Springfield Falcons and tonight's loss puts them in a tough spot after a pair of home games to open the series.

Brad Larsen said Friday night's Game 1 was littered with poor decision-making on his team's part and that a lot of his players were guilty of standing around and not getting engaged in the game. He expected a much different effort in Game 2, one that could split two games at the MassMutual Center and give them something to feel good about as the series shifts to War Memorial Arena in Syracuse next week.

A four-goal first period from the Crunch in Game 1 was - in many ways - a worst-case scenario in terms of Springfield opening up the series on home ice on the right note, but the start of Game 2 was a back-breaker.

Tyler Johnson, the AHL's regular season MVP coming off a multi-point effort in Game 1, paced Syracuse with a hat trick in Game 2 and was a complete difference-maker for the visitors, who took back home ice with a weekend sweep and have control of the conference semifinal series with the Falcons.

Richard Panik and Mike Angelidis scored two goals just 13 seconds apart to give the Crunch a 2-0 lead just 75 seconds into the game, taking the home crowd out of the game and helping Syracuse settle into its possession game. For the second straight night, the Falcons were unable to get out to a good start in their home rink and it ended up costing them dearly.

Championships never come easy and the playoffs aren't meant to be a cake walk, but the Springfield Falcons hit a big speed bump in Game 1 at the MassMutual Center.

This was a different type of game than they saw in the first round against Manchester, a team that plays a calculated, tight-checking style and prefers not to play off the rush. Springfield experienced pretty much the exact opposite last night, as the Crunch pushed the pace and tried to make plays off the rush on nearly every trip down the ice.

They spent a lot of time in the Falcons' zone in the opening period, which meant the Falcons did a lot of chasing and were unable to establish any territory of their own in the early going. Syracuse is known as a team that likes to shoot the puck and apply pressure whenever possible, and that was evident during a four-goal outburst in the first period which ultimately decided the hockey game.

Mark Barberio's rebound goal at 8:40 of the first period was the first of four in a 12-minute span for the Crunch. Tyler Johnson had a chance around the net on the very next shift and was denied, but the puck lay in the crease for Richard Panik to swoop in and chip home the rebound 20 seconds after Syracuse went ahead 1-0.